Highlights From The Chronicle's Crime Scene Blog

Demian Bulwa, Henry K. Lee

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, October 9, 2011

OAKLAND

Some BART deputies can speak to media

BART has deputized several members of its Police Department to talk to the media directly rather than work through the agency's public affairs office - a change officials insist isn't connected to the recent protests in downtown San Francisco that turned into a war of words.

Despite being in the media spotlight since a BART officer killed Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009, the transit agency force had been one of the few police departments in the Bay Area without internal spokespeople. It's been a longtime source of frustration for some rank-and-file officers, who feel police work is best described by someone with police experience.

Now, though, with the approval of new General Manager Grace Crunican, watch commanders and deputy chiefs are being allowed to talk about incidents on the BART system.

One of the deputy chiefs, Ben Fairow, said, "In the law enforcement business, information becomes stale pretty quick. In the past, this organization has always gone through media relations folks when something develops. But you need your critical information now."

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Officials hope the move will help restore public trust in the BART force, though the timing is sure to raise eyebrows. BART's chief spokesman, Linton Johnson, has been criticized for his response to the recent protests over the fatal police shooting of Charles Blair Hill at Civic Center Station in July.

But Fairow said the new policy has been a work in progress since before July. In fact, establishing a public information officer's position was one of the recommendations of an audit of the BART Police Department by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, which was undertaken after the Grant shooting and released in March 2010.

- Demian Bulwa

SAN CARLOS

No trial for woman accused of killing pet

A San Carlos woman accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend's pet bearded dragon has been found incompetent to stand trial.

Shawna Apour, 37, has a developmental disability and therefore is not competent to face criminal proceedings, Judge Lisa Novak of San Mateo County Superior Court ruled Wednesday. The judge committed Apour to a state mental health facility.

Apour killed Speedy, her boyfriend's 14-year-old bearded dragon, at a home on Crestview Drive in San Carlos on Aug. 13 because she thought the boyfriend was flirting with other women, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Apour then went outside the home, vandalized a 1958 Buick belonging to her boyfriend's brother, and slashed the tires of two other cars with the knife that killed the lizard, scratching "hate crime" on the hood of one of them, Wagstaffe said.

Sheriff's deputies were called, and Apour brandished the knife at them before she was subdued with the help of a Taser shock weapon, authorities said.

After posting bail, Apour was found walking on the railroad tracks near the San Carlos train station several days later, Wagstaffe said. Apour became aggressive when approached and tried to grab a deputy's gun and Taser, authorities said.

The deputy subdued her, and Apour was again jailed. She told deputies that she had tried to yank away the gun because the "government was screwing her," prosecutors said.

Apour had been charged with domestic violence, cruelty to animals, vandalism, brandishing a weapon, possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and disobeying a law enforcement officer.